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Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc to be held without bail

Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc was ordered held without bail Tuesday after a judge heard arguments that the 16 explosive devices he allegedly sent to critics of President Donald Trump showed he poses a public danger and flight risk.

NEW YORK – Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc was ordered held without bail Tuesday after a judge heard arguments that the 16 explosive devices he allegedly mailed to critics of President Donald Trump showed he poses a public danger and flight risk.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger issued the ruling after Sayoc, 56, made his initial appearance at a hearing in Manhattan federal court after waiving a similar court hearing in Miami on Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Kim briefly stated Sayoc’s alleged danger to the public, as well as what she characterized as his likelihood to flee.

Federal defender Sarah Baumgartel said she would not seek bail for Sayoc at this point. Lehrburger appointed her to represent Sayoc after reviewing a financial affidavit in which the defendant said he was unable to hire an attorney.

Sayoc, clad in a dark blue jail smock and pants, said little beyond telling the judge he understood the charges against him and his legal rights.

Lehrburger scheduled a Nov. 12 hearing at which Sayoc and his attorney could challenge the five-count federal complaint filed against him. However, the judge cautioned that federal prosecutors could unseal and file an indictment against Sayoc before the next hearing.

Federal investigators captured Sayoc on Oct. 26 after linking him to fingerprint and DNA evidence found on some of the explosive devices Sayoc allegedly sent to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, actor-director Robert De Niro, billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, cable news network CNN and other prominent Trump critics.

Investigators recovered all of the devices before they could explode, and no one was injured.

At the time of his arrest in Plantation, Florida, just west of Fort Lauderdale, Sayoc was traveling in a white van covered with stickers that supported Trump and trashed the president's Democratic critics.

Federal authorities accused the suspect of waging a domestic terrorist attack, charging him with five federal crimes, including interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of an explosive and threats against former presidents.

If convicted on the current criminal charges, Sayoc faces a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison. However, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman signaled in a court filing last week that the suspect likely will face additional charges from the continuing federal investigation.

Sayoc planned the pipe bomb mailings as early as July, Berman said in the court filing, citing evidence the suspect conducted Internet searches to find addresses for his potential targets.

Investigators say they also found copies of return address labels with the misspelled name of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, matching labels found on the packages the suspect allegedly used to mail the explosive devices.